Ecotourism -- low-impact travel to natural areas -- might seem like an attractive option to visitors interested in pristine environments and local culture. Its benefits include an increased appreciation for nature and a stronger commitment to conservation. The drawbacks might be less apparent, but unfortunately, ecotourism also can harm the very people and environments it attempts to help.
Organizations such as the International Ecotourism Society and the International Union for Conservation of Nature have established standards for ecotourism. To meet their definition, trips must involve visiting natural environments, doing nothing to change or adversely affect these areas, and providing cultural and economic advantages to local communities. There’s no way to enforce these requirements, though, and businesses can advertise trips as ecotourism even when they aren’t environmentally responsible. Critics call this “greenwashing.”
Although one of ecotourism’s main purposes is to conserve the environment, it can have a detrimental effect instead. As a destination’s popularity grows, resources sometimes become overtaxed, and natural attractions suffer from overuse. Human visitors can disrupt wildlife, resulting in changes to their feeding and mating habits. In addition, many ecotourist destinations are in remote areas, requiring extensive air and vehicle travel that creates carbon footprints.
An important aspect of ecotourism is benefit to the local community. Often, though, international corporations and developers from outside the area flock to popular destinations. Their hotels and stores take money away from the local economy. In addition, the original residents have to pay the same inflated prices for food and water as tourists do, putting a greater financial burden on them. Finally, corrupt governments frequently take a large cut of the profits from ecotourism, leaving little or none for local communities that are directly affected by the influx of visitors.
Cultural exploitation and deterioration also can result from ecotourism. As towns grow to accommodate an influx of visitors, original residents often lose pasture and crop land. Instead of remaining in their traditional occupations, they’re frequently forced to take low-paying service jobs in hotels, restaurants and shops. Their cultural practices can become fodder for tourists’ entertainment, eroding the traditional importance and meaning.
- Sustainability Watch: Ecotourism 2009
- International Union for Conservation of Nature: Tourism, Ecotourism, and Protected Areas: Héctor Ceballos-Lascuráin: 2. Tourism and the Environment
- Untamed Path: Eco-Tourism or Eco-Terrorism?: Anita Pleumarom
- The International Ecotourism Society: What Is Ecotourism?
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